


A Friend, From Another World

by Maddie_Jae



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, John Winchester's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 01:54:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16652074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maddie_Jae/pseuds/Maddie_Jae
Summary: Sam and Dean are hungry, cold, and alone in a cabin in the middle of the woods.  The worst part?  There's something moving outside their cabin.





	A Friend, From Another World

“Dean, I’m hungry.”  Sam said, the corners of his mouth pulled down as he looked at his older brother with wide eyes.  “When is Dad coming back?”

“Soon, Sammy, Dad’s coming back real soon.”  Dean said, pulling the blanket tighter over his brother’s shoulders.  The frosty wind howled through the gaps in the boards of the walls of the cabin.  Both boys huddled together on the only bed in the place, fully clothed with their jackets on and zipped and their knit hats pulled low over their ears.

John Winchester had been gone for a week and a half, leaving his two young sons alone in an abandoned cabin.  He was out hunting, though whether he was hunting monsters or out on a drinking binge remained to be seen. Dean wasn’t sure what to expect when his father got back.

If his father came back at all.  That had happened a time or two in the past few years as well.

 

“Dean, I’m hungry.”  Sam said two days later, his voice coming out in a whine.  Dean didn’t chastise him for complaining like he normally would, not when the elder of the two brothers also felt like complaining.

Usually when John was gone long enough for the food to run out, Dean could barricade the windows, lock the door on the way out, and go buy or steal food from the nearest supermarket or corner store.  In a cabin deep in the woods, however, there was little that ten-year-old Dean could do.

“Me too, Sammy.”  Dean said. “Dad will be back soon.”  Dean didn’t know that, but he promised anyway.

 

There was something moving outside.  Though it didn’t make any sound, Dean could see the dark silhouette of a man slowly making his way through the trees.  Dean knew better than to talk to strangers, _especially_ strangers that were wandering around the woods in the dead of night.

The food had been gone for four days, though.  Dean was hungry, and Sammy needed to eat.

Dean left his brother asleep on the thin mattress, covering him up to the chin to combat the coolness of the night since Dean wouldn’t be there to lend his body heat for a few minutes.  The boy grabbed the gun his father left them and eased his way out the front door.

It was cold out, but not as bad as it had been the past few nights.  The trees surrounding the cabin seemed to brush against the stars as they swayed in the light breeze.  The man was standing at the edge of the clearing, head tilted back to gaze at the night sky and a soft expression on his face.

“Excuse me.”  Dean said softly, but the man didn’t react.  Dean crept a little closer, so close he could reach out and touch the man’s too-long jacket if he wanted.  Dean made sure to keep the barrel of the gun pointed at the man in case he tried anything funny.

“Sir?”  Dean said with a little more volume.

The man turned his head slowly, ever so slowly, to look at Dean.  Even in the dark, even though the angle was wrong, Dean could see the stars of the night sky reflecting in the man’s eyes.

 _Not human eyes_.  Dean realized at once, though the knowledge didn’t scare him, they were too beautiful to make Dean feel anything other than awe.

“Heh,” The man chuckled.  “How weird. It’s almost like you can see me.”

“I _can_ see you!”  Dean told him, a nervous laugh tumbling out of his mouth as the man gasped in surprise.  “Can people not usually see you?”

“It’s been a long time.”  The man answered after a moment, his mouth turning up in a soft smile.  “What’s your name?”

“Dean.  Dean Winchester.  What’s yours?”

“You can call me Castiel.”

“Castiel.”  Dean said slowly, the unusual name making his eyebrows furrow.  He saw Castiel glance at the gun in Dean’s grip, barrel still pointing at the man’s chest.

“Are you going to try and kill me?”  Castiel asked calmly.

“Um, no.”  Dean muttered, biting his bottom lip.  He debated for a moment before lowering the gun and settling it in the crook of his elbow.

“That’s better.”  Castiel said, grinning at Dean before looking back up at the night sky.  Dean followed his gaze and the two were silent for a few minutes.

 

“Do you have any food?”  Dean asked when he couldn’t ignore the pain in his belly for a moment longer.

“Um, no.”  Castiel said slowly, a frown on his lips.  “I have no need for it.” Dean dropped his head in despair as Castiel gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment.  “Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”  Dean admitted.  “My Dad didn’t leave enough food for me and my brother, and I don’t know when he’s coming back.”

“It’s just you and your brother here?”  Castiel asked, turning to face Dean fully.

As he moved, the shadows just over his shoulders moved as well.

Dean took an uncertain step back.  He wondered if Castiel was one of the demons he heard his father talking to other hunters about.  It was probably a really, _really_ bad thing to talk to this man.

Dean gripped the gun tighter, dropping it from its cradle in his elbow to hold it in both hands.  The motion did not escape Castiel’s notice.

“I mean you no harm, Dean.”  Castiel assured him, tilting his head at the boy.  “Go back to your brother and sleep. I’ll be back before dawn.”  There was a sound, like the fluttering of paper but softer, and before Dean could gasp or take a step back, Castiel was gone.

Dean looked around himself for the man or any more shifting shadows, but he was quite alone save for the trees and the cabin.  The boy shivered, nervous and anxious and wondering what exactly he’d just been conversing with. He made his way back to bed, where he cuddled under the blankets with his brother until the chill he felt in his bones warmed and his thoughts gave way to exhaustion.

 

“Dean!”  Came the hiss, and Dean scrunched his eyes tighter against the beam of morning light that fell across his face.  His brother was shaking him, whispering at him even as he tried to wake him.

“What, Sammy?”  Dean groaned, clutching his stomach as it gave an uncomfortable lurch.

“I was going to surprise you, but I don’t know how to make bacon.”  Sam admitted, giving his brother one last good shake before Dean’s hands slapped his arms away.

“How is you not being able to cook a surprise?”  Dean grumbled, eyes still shut tight against the morning sun.

“Not that, Dean!  We have food now!”  Sam said quickly, and Dean could hear him running across the one-room cabin towards the ancient refrigerator.  “Look!”

Dean sat up and rubbed his bleary eyes before he could focus, and gasped.  Sam had pulled open the refrigerator door, and where there had been nothing but dusty bottles of water the night before, the cooler was now packed to bursting with food.

“Dad must have come home last night while we were sleeping.”  Sam reasoned, a huge smile on his face as Dean crossed the room with his mouth hanging open.

“Wha-?”

“And look what else!”  Sam said, closing the refrigerator door and turning to the pantry.  It had held nothing but dust and spiderwebs when Dean had last checked it, but was now clean and stocked with crackers and bread, with boxes of mac and cheese and hamburger helper, with sacks of potatoes and peanut butter, with spaghetti sauce and more kinds of noodles than Dean would know what to do with.

For a wild moment, Dean accepted Sam’s explanation that their father had crept in while they were sleeping to bring them food, but then he remembered a pair of star-strewn eyes, and he knew John Winchester had no part in this.

What _was_ that thing outside their cabin last night?  Dean quickly replayed their conversation in his head, but didn’t have a clue as to what the man could have meant by people normally didn’t see him.

“Dean?”  Sam asked cautiously, his smile gone.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah!”  Dean said, shaking himself out of his stupor and putting the thought of the mysterious man away.  “Did you say bacon? Let’s make breakfast!”

For breakfast, lunch, snack time, and dinner, the Winchester boys ate like kings.

 

“Thank you.”

Castiel slowly turned his head towards Dean again, eyebrows raised as if surprised the boy could still see him.

“Of course, Dean.”  Castiel said, turning to face the boy.  The shadows over his shoulders moved again.

“What are you?”  Dean asked, and didn’t consider that such directness could be considered rude until the question was already out of his mouth.  He immediately apologised, but Castiel just chuckled.

“I’m a- well, there’s not a word in your language for it.”

“Are you a demon?”  Dean asked, and Castiel tilted his head at him before answering.

“Do I look like a demon?”

“I don’t know.”  Dean admitted. “Your eyes are different.”

“You should see them in the daytime.”  Castiel said, looking back towards the sky with a smile on his lips.  He half turned away from Dean, and the shadows behind the man’s shoulders moved with him.

“What’s that behind you?”  Dean asked. “I can’t see it.”

“You can see them a little, or you wouldn’t have known to ask.”  Castiel said, grinning at his own joke.

“Very funny.”  Dean said, taking a step closer to the man.  “What are they?”

“They’re wings.”

“ _Wings?”_  Dean gasped.

“That’s right.”

“You can _fly_?”

“Mm, I suppose.”  Castiel said, turning his starry eyes back to Dean.

“What do you mean?”  Dean asked, thinking the ability or inability to fly would be fairly straightforward.  “What else would wings be for?”

“They’re very good for blocking out the rain.”  Castiel said, and the shadows behind him shifted again though he wasn’t moving.  The shadows lifted above his head, spanning several feet to each side and yeah, Dean could see how they would be good at keeping the rain off.

Dean laughed then, and Castiel joined him, the sound echoing back to them from the trees all around.

“What else are they for?  Can I go flying with you?”  Dean asked when his mirth had died away.

“I can travel between dimensions, and for that I use my wings, but I couldn’t fly up and land atop those trees right now.”  Castiel tilted his head at the boy again, as if anticipating another round of questions.

“Dimensions?”

“Other worlds.”

“What other worlds?”  Dean asked. “Is that where you come from?  Why are you here?”

“There are more dimensions than I could describe in your lifetime,” Castiel explained.  “My people are from one of them. I’m here because I wanted to check on you, and because I love the sky in your world.”  Castiel turned his head back to the stars again, Dean following his gaze, and the two watched the treetops sway against the backdrop of the stars in silence for several minutes.

“Thank you for the food.”  Dean said again.

“You are very welcome, Dean Winchester.”  Castiel said, and then sighed. “I’m afraid I have to leave now.”

“Why?”  Dean asked, rushing forward and taking Castiel’s hand in both of his.  “You could stay.” Castiel knelt in front of the boy, a sad smile on his face.

“Much of the time, I’d rather be here.”  He admitted. “It’s nice to have company again.  If you ever need help, just think my name, and I will come.”

“Like a prayer?”  Dean didn’t pray, but his mom used to, so he knew how to do it.

“A prayer would work.”  Castiel said with a nod.  “I’ll see you again, Dean.”  There was another sound, like leaves fluttering in the breeze, and Castiel was gone.  Dean’s hands that had been holding one of Castiel’s hands closed around empty air.


End file.
